Ayn Rand Says...

As far as the issue of actual pollution is concerned, it is primarily a scientific, not a political, problem. In regard to the political problem involved: if a man creates a physical danger or a harm to others, which extends beyond the line of his own property, such as unsanitary conditions or even loud noise, and if this is proved, the law can and does hold him responsible. If the condition is collective, such as in an overcrowded city, appropriate and objective laws can be defined, protecting the rights of all those involved - as was done in the case of oil rights, air-space rights, etc. But such laws cannot demand the impossible, must not be aimed at a single scapegoat, i.e., the industrialists, and must take into consideration the whole context of the problem, i.e., the absolute necessity of the continued existence of industry - if the preservation of human life is the standard.

-- Ayn Rand, "The Left: Old And New," The New Left: The Anti-Industrial Revolution